


Little Red Motorcycle Jacket

by Mediumdinosaur



Series: Fairy Tales of Narin [1]
Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Flirting, Meet-Cute, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mediumdinosaur/pseuds/Mediumdinosaur
Summary: Poppy's headed straight to her grandma's, outside of Narin city and through the woods. But when her scooter crashes, she meets a dangerous stranger on the side of the highway.In some parts of the world, the woods are full of wolves. But in this fairy tale retelling?Well... you're more likely to find a tiger.
Relationships: Tora/Poppy Wilkes
Series: Fairy Tales of Narin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115246
Comments: 14
Kudos: 78





	Little Red Motorcycle Jacket

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy ♥️ hope y'all like it!

In some parts of the world, the woods are full of wolves. 

And you, dear reader, must know how the story goes: a little girl in a red cloak goes through the woods to visit her sick grandmother. She’s stalked by a wolf, who almost devours her until he learns her destination. The wolf and slinks off to her grandmother’s instead. When the girl arrives, her grandmother’s place has been taken by the wolf. And just when all seems at its darkest point: enter the woodsman, who slays the wolf and saves the young girl.

Well, that’s not quite how this version goes.

Because outside of Narin city? Well, you’re more likely to find tigers.

~*~

You could call Poppylan Wilkes a _young girl_ , the same way men everywhere call grown women _girls_ , but despite her love of cheery patterns and upbeat slogans Poppy wasn’t a girl.

She was a woman. 

Unfortunately for Poppy, the man she had been dating could better be described as a _boy_ , despite his insistence that he was mature and too adult for Poppy’s style. Funny how that worked.

But moving on.

At present, dear reader, you could find Poppylan speeding down route 5, perched on the seat of a white scooter bike. She wound over golden hills, brown waves tied back and peeping out of her white helmet. She wore a monkey backpack over a red motorcycle jacket. 

She left the open hills and passed through a grove of sun-dappled woods. And there? Disaster.

Poppy hit a stone in the road and for a moment she _flew_ —tossed over her handlebars to slam onto the grass shoulder of the highway. The jacket protected her elbows, but her knees scraped painfully against the ground. She hissed in pain.

~*~

Poppy rolled onto her back with a groan and stared up at the sky—or, what of the sky she could see through the trees. 

Her bike lolled uselessly to one side, upside down like a turtle on its back. She tugged her helmet off and tossed it a foot to the side, then slowly sat up. She slid off her backpack and peered around her at the scattered contents that had escaped the bag. 

“Quite the fall, sweetheart,” a husky voice said behind her.

Poppy spun.

The stranger was tall, with sharp gold eyes and long, tousled ink-black hair. A circular tattoo peeped from beneath his hair, gracing the side of his thick neck. He lounged against a nearby tree, his arms crossed in front of him. A lit cigarette dangled from his lips.

“You startled me,” she complained, as a shiver ran down her spine. Had the air gotten colder? The man was handsome, but she’d never met someone so intimidating. The man was built like an animal.

The man stepped closer. Poppy shifted back, but he crouched down and grabbed a paper-wrapped parcel off the ground. He unfolded it and then blinked at the scraped-up woman in front of him.

“This a fuckin’ fish?” Tora asked, cocking an eyebrow up and stifling a smile. The cigarette remained pinched in the corner of his lips. 

“Shut up,” Poppy muttered. She reached forward and snatched it from him, re-wrapping it and stuffing it into her bag.

“The fuck you have a dead fish in your backpack for?” He exhaled smoke to one side, eyes peering curiously at her.

“My grandma’s sick,” Poppy snapped. “I’m going to cook for her. What is this, twenty questions?”

“Feisty, huh?” Tora drawled, smirking at her. 

“Whatever,” Poppy muttered. She started to hurriedly grab the work papers and other grocery items that had also escaped her bag, shoving them haphazardly inside. 

Tora watched her work without helping. Then his eyes widened imperceptibly as Poppy’s fingers reached for a particular piece of paper.

Unmistakably, it belonged to the notebook he’d found moments before: the notebook he’d found beside Goliath’s bloody shoe. 

He lunged for it, but Poppy got there first and slid the paper into her bag. 

“Excuse me,” she said coldly as the tall, imposing man’s fingers brushed against hers. 

“Just trying to help,” Tora muttered, eyes fixed on hers.

“Thanks, that’s really nice,” Poppy said, though internally she thought: _I didn’t ask for your help, weirdo._ “Um… what were you doing in the woods?”

“Hiking,” Tora said, his tone nonchalant. “Where’s ya grandma live?”

“Moonbright,” Poppy said. Then, instantly: _shoot_ , _why’d I tell a stranger that?_

“You need a ride?”

“I’m fine,” Poppy insisted.

“Bike says otherwise,” Tora said. He straightened his long legs and took a few steps to the sad carcass of her totaled scooter, tilting his head at it. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You don’t gotta be so cold, sweetheart. I just offered you a ride. S’not like I asked you to sleep with me.”

Poppy blushed, and buried her face in her hands for a moment. She took a deep breath and glanced around, making sure all her belongings were back in her bag.

Smart women don’t get into cars with strange men, generally speaking. But Poppy knew three things. 

  1. If she ever wanted to rise above her junior editor position and become a _real_ journalist, she’d need a real story, and the best stories meant taking some risks;
  2. The hint of the tattoo on the handsome man’s neck screamed _Balthuman,_ the notorious crime family;
  3. He was the most handsome person she’d ever seen.



Alright: that last one didn’t count for much, but it was still _true_.

“You aren’t, like, an axe murderer or something, are you?” Poppy asked.

“Nah. I’m more into guns and martial arts for my murder sprees,” Tora said, his voice emotionless and flat.

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Poppy said, rolling her eyes. “I will get into your car, _if_ you let me drive.”

“You gotta be kidding,” Tora said, glaring at her as his dark eyebrows knotted together.

“Not at all,” she said evenly. “ _You_ are very intimidating, if you hadn’t noticed, and I have to look out for myself. I’m not letting you drive me off to some strange location.”

“I’m trying to do you a favor,” he said.

“And I’m accepting, on those terms. Otherwise, I’ll walk.”

“Christ, kid. We’re miles from Moonbright. If I wanted to drag ya off into the woods and have my way with ya, I would just do it.”

Poppy squeaked and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“ _Not_ helping,” she informed him.

He said nothing and shrugged.

“What’s the problem, anyways? I know how to drive,” she insisted. 

“Uh huh,” Tora said, directing his gaze pointedly to her destroyed scooter.

“Fine,” Poppy muttered, blushing. “Lead the way, creep.”

~*~

“So,” Tora said, as he parked the car in front of Poppy’s grandma’s house. “When do I get to take ya to dinner?”

Poppy considered this for a moment. Once again, she reminded herself that she wanted to be a journalist—that this man could be the start of an undercover tell-all investigation—and that he might not have been a piece of meat, but he sure as heck _looked_ like one. 

“I live in the city,” she said, half-reluctant.

“So do I,” he said, with a smirk. “So? How ‘bout tomorrow?”

“Geeze,” Poppy muttered, torn between instinct (don’t go out with a stranger! This guy is terrifying!) and desire (this could be a great lead! And have you _looked_ at how built he is?). 

“Wait. Here,” he said. She watched as he lifted his hips up off the driver’s seat— _oh, god, the way he thrust his hips up!_ —to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it up and held her a business card, pinched between two fingers. 

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Hotline to a… nevermind. Look, sweetheart. Not gonna ask for your number, ‘cuz you look a little nervous. But you text me, and I’ll take you out. Alright?”

“Thanks,” Poppy murmured, taking it from him slowly. “Um, for this. And the ride. I should go.”

“Try not to crash next time,” he said. Poppy giggled, shook her head at her own folly, and let herself out of the red car. 

~*~

She didn’t notice that Tora had yet to drive away.

All she noticed, letting herself into her Grandma’s house, was a familiar young man’s voice.

“If you could just _talk_ to her for me…” Julri whined.

“Julri?” Poppy said, face contorting with anger as she slipped her backpack off and stomped to the living room.

Her grandma sat propped up on the couch, blinking tiredly at the young man in front of her. She just had a cold—nothing too serious—but still. She should have been in bed, not entertaining this donkey. 

“Poppy, baby,” Julri said, jumping out of the armchair he’d been reclined in. “Thank god. I’ve been calling…”

“I told you not to call,” Poppy said, eyes glinting as she squared her shoulders. “After last week…”

“It was a _mistake_ , baby,” he whined. 

“ _Out_ ,” Poppy said. 

She turned and stomped out of the room, anger bubbling in her mind, as Julri trotted after her. 

Poppy threw open the front door and then slammed it behind the two of them, spinning on her heel to face him.

“What the fudge were you thinking, bothering my grandma?” Poppy snapped.

“Baby, I’d do _anything_ for you,” Julri insisted. “I _had_ to get in touch with you, when you wouldn’t answer…”

“I didn’t answer,” Poppy said, enunciating each syllable slowly and clearly, “because I _didn’t want_ to answer, you _wolf_.”

There came the noise of a car door opening, and then slamming shut.

“Poppy, it was a _mistake_ ,” Julri said.

“You _cheated_ , Julri. And you know what? I’m kind of _glad_ . Because I’ve been over this for a _long_ time.”

“This guy bothering you?” came a deep voice.

Poppy and Julri, both engulfed deep in their spat, had not noticed Tora approach. He stood now on the stone walkway leading up to the font door, arms crossed and eyes too emotionless to reveal the mix of concern and amusement he felt on the inside, watching this little hamster of a woman lay into the dickhead who’d evidently cheated on her. 

“What are you still doing here?” Poppy said.

“ _Still_ ?” Julri echoed. “You _know_ this guy?”

“I…” Poppy threw her head back and drew a slow, deep breath, then gave Julri her coolest, most level expression. “ _Julri_ . I do not want to speak to you, ever again. I do not want to see you, _ever again_. If I hear you came to my grandma’s again, I will call the cops. Now leave.”

“Baby…”

“ _Leave_ ,” Poppy repeated.

“Fucking crazy bitch,” Julri muttered. Head held high, he turned and walked away. 

“And you,” Poppy said, narrowing her eyes at Tora. 

“Me?” he said in surprise, fighting back a smile at the absolutely fierce five-foot-nothing woman in front of him.

“What are you still doing here?”

“Service is shit out here,” he said calmly. “Waiting for my GPS to load when that dickhead came outta your grandma’s. Thought I’d offer backup.”

“Uh-huh,” Poppy said. 

He smiled at her, then held his hands up in surrender.

“I’m going,” Tora said. “Next time you come out, I’ll be gone. Swear.”

“You better be,” Poppy said. She turned around to go back inside, then closed her eyes and drew a breath. She turned over her shoulder. “Tora?”

“Uh-huh?”

“You free this Friday?”

“For you, sweetheart, I’m free anytime.”

“That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard,” Poppy informed him. “But… I’ll text you. Now go away, please.”

Tora chuckled, but he got into his car and did as she asked.

~*~

Like I said, dear reader: in some parts of the world, the woods are full of wolves. 

But outside of Narin city? Well. 

You’re more likely to find tigers.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
